OK, here’s my predicament.
We came home the other day and discovered a scene similar to this:
via
(This is not our dog and not our house, but I’ve never felt like reaching for a camera when we’ve come home to a mess like this!)
It’s not the first time.
Our two dogs suffer from separation anxiety. They are normally very sweet, well-behaved dogs (for terriers), but when we leave the house, they turn into little paper-and-fabric-chewing machines. This would be unacceptable on any day, but since we just completely remodeled our master bedroom, including building and outfitting a new king-sized bed with brand new linens, we HAVE to do something about keeping our dogs out of our master bedroom during the day.
So we have started to think about dog gates. But, before I go into all that, I want you to know that we have considered these options:
- I know we could just close the door to our bedroom (I mean, duh), but after we invest time, money, and stress renovating that room to make it pretty, I want to be able to look at it as I pass by during the day. Plus, closing the door really messes with how our HVAC system operates.
- Yes, we could leave our dogs outside in our fenced yard while we’re gone, but we live out in the boonies, where coyotes, wild hogs, bobcats, and hawks freely roam. Call me paranoid or overly protective, but leaving them outside for hours at a time just isn’t an option.
- We could install a doggie door so the dogs could go out and in as they pleased. However, a recent conversation with an elderly local went something like this:
Me: “I’m just afraid that we would have raccoons and other wild animals coming through that doggie door!”
Him: “Oh, I guarantee it. You will!”
So even though I almost hate to do it, we are thinking very seriously about installing so-called ‘baby’ gates to the doorways of our bedrooms. We’re going to at least try it and see if we like it.
I’ve been on a quest lately to find good and pretty ideas. They must be pretty, and they must be vintage or vintage-y.
Goodness knows it would be my first choice to find a truly vintage gate, preferably locally or at an antique show I attend (because I’m thinking shipping would be costly), at a reasonable price, and in reasonably good condition.
I mean, how fabulous would it be to have a gate like this old double loop wire gate?
Or wrought iron? Folks, I drool over wrought iron.
However. I’ve had no luck (so far) finding an old gate.
But I’m not crying yet because I did say ‘vintage-y’ was fine. (At least until I find an old one.)
So I’ve been searching for garden gate ideas online, and here are some inspiration photos I really like.
Option 1
I do like this gate, and it looks like it would be easy to build, minus the round top, of course.
Option 2
I know this gate is very similar to the blue gate above, but it’s different enough to merit a mention. This gate is too tall — I would want our gate to be waist-high.
Option 3
Making a garden gate using an old window is a really cool idea, and we DO have tons of old windows in our garage. All we would need to do is staple chicken wire to the back of it because our dogs would slip through those holes in lightning speed.
Option 4
A picket fence gate? Heck yeah it’s a contender. This is just one idea I found. I pinned the others. I have always loved picket fences … but do I want one inside the house? Hmmmm.
Option 5
This is such a pretty gate using tree branches. I love that it’s simple, rustic, uses natural materials, and easy to build. Definitely, I like.
Option 6
Before we moved from Austin, I saw this style of fencing everywhere. It’s a little bit old-fashioned with a little bit of an industrial, modern vibe. I like it, and it looks so easy to build.
Option 7
I don’t know why I like this gate so much, but I do. Could it be because it is rustic and uses reclaimed wood?
Yeah. Probably so.
Option 8
I guess we could cut an old door in half … but I’m not sure I want to sacrifice an old, lovely door for this project.
Option 9
This one is okay. It would be really easy to build using reclaimed wood, especially since this is a DIY project with free plans online.
Well, that’s it. A total of nine options that I have found so far that I like somewhat. We haven’t made a decision yet, so would you care to help me out here? Do you think I’m nuts and/or would you care to give me your vote?
[Update: Hop on over and see the dog gate we built for our master bedroom.]
I’d say keep it open, like either the picket style or the industrial meets modern….wrought iron would be too heavy and eventually come loose from the moulding, solids would probably motivate the terriers to jump to see what’s going on, and glass windows you’d be forever cleaning of slobber. But whatever you use, I’m certain it will be fabulous!
Thanks for the feedback, Rita! I really appreciate it. I’m still thinking on it, but I think I had a eureka moment last night. More on this topic later. I MUST head over to your blog and check it out soon! I promise I will do that.
Look at the dog gates at Front Gate catalog (www.frontgate.com). It is an upscale home living catalog. The pet gates are not as ugly and appear to be a better quality.
I’ll do that. That’s my biggest complaint about store bought dog gates. They’re usually so UGLY! However, we’ll probably wind up building one. Heaven knows we have enough reclaimed wood. 🙂
Can’t seem to put a photo in here so shall pin it and tag you of an old gate in action as a doggie door. At a friend’s house. Hard to find but worth the hunt!
Hey, thanks. Not in the market for a dog gate. However, we are needing a “fix” at the top of the stairs…first step waaay too close to the entrance/exit of the guest bedroom. Half door would be a good idea and more sturdy than a gate.
Oh my, that sounds dangerous! Hope you come up with a good fix. Reminds me of the Rehab Addict show. One of the episodes showed a predicament similar to yours, and she actually wound up moving a wall back a good 4 feet or so.
Kim, just a wise word of a past owner of a terrier. My Jack Russell is now gone, but a word to the wise, you might try something at the height you are thinking of first and give it a test drive. I thought I picked a good height where my girl surely couldn’t get over, how WRONG was I! She could manage to climb almost to the top of the door to get over it when she sooooo…. wanted too! So maybe before you build or alter something you think will work, give something that height a test run with you gone from home for just long enough for them to get over if they can, but not long enough to do any damage to your room……good luck
Thanks, Kathy! Definitely food for thought. 🙂
Please be careful of pickets since dogs can jump up and have their collar hook over a picket , causing danger. Luckily I was looking out the window when the dog almost hung himself and I was able to get him off the fence. Best of luck.
Yikes! No, I love my dogs too much to put them at risk like that. Picket fence out!
I do love the last door and it does seem to fit you home as much as I have seen of it. In fact, as I was reading about the need for one, that kind of gate came to mind. A friend of mine who breeds dogs built one similar for their kitchen, old house and it fit in very well. I do so enjoy visiting and seeing how you are redoing each of your rooms. Can’t wait to see the living room when you are done. My father had a second job when we were kids of tearing down old barns and sheds. I wish he had kept more of the wood, he currently only has old black walnut in his barn. Alaina
I think I need something solid like that so that can’t look through the gate and be enticed to want to get to the other side. Anytime we set up a barrier, even if it’s cardboard, that’s about 3-4 tall, our little Jack Russell has never tried to attempt to cross it.
Glad you’re stopping by and checking out what we’re doing. Speaking of which, the living room reveal is coming next week.
Tearing down old barns and sheds used to be the thing to do. I really do believe that, since so many houses we salvage seem to have been built with whatever was on hand. Your dad sounds a lot like mine — he did carpentry, auto and boat repair, and masonry work when I was small and did woodworking, furniture-building projects in his spare time. Later in life, he was a rural mail carrier, but always liked to tinker with wood and mechanics.
Kim, As a dog lover and someone who uses old reclaimed wood, doors etc. I thought I’d share our experience. We have 5 dogs, all sizes, 2 terriers, a beagle, a schnoodle and a German shepherd mix. All inside, well in and out (LOL) we live on a farm. We decided to take 2 doors out of our stash and cut them in half. I call them our Mr Ed doors. They have worked beautifully. We can close the entire door for privacy, noise, or whatever or leave the top open for ventilation. The dogs learned quickly (for the most part) not to jump at or scratch the doors. We have a glass door on the back door and what a mistake. A previous poster stated the obvious— doggy slobber no matter how often you wipe them clean. Sacrificing a cool old door isn’t really a sacrifice when you will still be able to enjoy it and keep your pups safe! And you can use cool vintage hardware too! Just a win-win in my book. And BTW, love your blog and your mission to save old homes for reuse. Wish more people thought like you!
Carolyn, I’m so grateful you wrote to me and told me about your experience with doggie doors and what you used for a door. I think we have decided what we’re going to do, and I’ll reveal it (hopefully) next week. I would NEVER, ever have a glass door, I don’t think because you’re right — dealing with the dog slobber would get old in a hurry. In fact, I’m not a huge fan of glass tabletops either — I had glass topped end tables once and I they got dirty so easily.
I’m so glad you enjoy my blog! Thank you for letting me know!
Hi Kim! You can search Amazon for electronic dog door and find so many! They come with a small collar device that unlocks the door only for your dog. Keeps other critters and pets out!
How funny that you mention this because I saw it on Blog Cabin (HGTV) recently. Oh the irony! I will definitely look into it, but frankly, I’m still a little bit leery about installing one because of all the wild animals our here in the boonies. I’ve heard that even hawks will grab a small dog and take off with them!
Use a pretty and old screen door, that way it will not mess with HVAC because air will flow thru the screen door but dogs can’t.